Tuesday 2 August 2016

New Zealand to legalise e-cigarettes?

From the New Zealand Herald...

The sale of e-cigarettes in New Zealand will become legal under a Government proposal.

Associate Health Minister Peseta Sam Lotu-liga has released a consultation document that includes the proposed change to the product's legal status.

Nicotine patches and gum can be bought, but nicotine e-cigarette liquid must be bought from overseas.

Other countries, like the UK, allow the e-cigarettes or vaporisers to be sold in supermarkets and dairies.

"Currently the sale and supply of e-cigarettes containing nicotine is prohibited in New Zealand. However people are buying them online and importing directly for personal use," Lotu-Iiga said.

"The proposal is to make the sale and supply of all e-cigarettes lawful in New Zealand with appropriate controls."

This is nothing more than common sense. It is absurd that nicotine is legal in tobacco products but illegal in vastly less dangerous e-cigarettes. The proposals are far from perfect but they are certainly an improvement...

"The proposal is to make the sale and supply of all e-cigarettes lawful in New Zealand with appropriate controls."

Those controls would include an R18 limit, and a ban on e-cigarette advertisements.

The products would not be allowed to be used in smoke-free areas...

There's no reason to ban their use indoors and nor is there reason to ban advertising, but at least New Zealand is moving towards the twenty-first century, which is more than can be said for Australia where the warped views of fanatical throwbacks like Simon Chapman (below) still hold sway.


I'm sure the Kiwis will welcome this opportunity to make Australia look like the anti-science, anti-freedom backwater that Aussie 'public health' people want it to be.

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